


Felled in the Night by the Ones You Think You Love

by Peridaniel



Series: Birdsong [1]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Episode: s01e19 Young Blood Old Souls, Gen, Rated T for swearing, background character headcanons, odalia is a manipulative bitch there thats the whole story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26741272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peridaniel/pseuds/Peridaniel
Summary: Lilith wants to be in the Emperor's Coven. Odalia wants to test just how far she's willing to go for it, and how naive she really is.
Series: Birdsong [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1969123
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hooooo boy. This started out as a oneshot, but I took it so far and it ended up so dense and long that I ended up having to split it. 
> 
> This started out with some headcanons and theories I developed while looking into the audience in the Young Blood, Old Souls flashback scene and thinking about the implications certain audience members and their reactions had, and boy, did I run with it. Basically, we all know Amity's parents are the green haired girl and brown haired boy in the audience. There's also a mystery girl with brown hair and glasses in a different part of the audience that I took note of. She will be involved in the second half of the story under a name I gave her with a personality and connection I came up with a headcanon for.
> 
> Oh, and the title of the fic comes from the song "Daniel in the Den" by Bastille. Now on with the fic!

Being the team captain, Lilith always had her game face on when she was out on the grudgby field. Simply stepping out of the school and taking in the air, seeing the scoreboards and goalposts hanging above the grass, and remembering all the games she played on that field gave her a rush of energy. 

So, it only made sense that that field would be where she'd train for the next day's witches' duel, the one that would determine whether she or her sister would get the last open spot on the Emperor's Coven. 

Eda was stronger than Lilith. Everyone at Hexside knew that, and never failed to remind Lilith that despite being two years older than her sister, her magic was only half of what the younger girl's was. She was weak, and everyone, including herself, knew it. 

But maybe, just maybe, she thought as she prepared a blue fire spell and focused on a tree she had brought up in the middle of the field, she could beat her if she just trained a little harder and... 

_Whoosh._ The fire spell shot out strong from her hands at first, but dissipated into nothing but wisps of smoke fairly quickly, hardly even charring the tree. It wasn't as good, strong, or precise as Eda's. It wasn't enough. 

As Lilith sighed and put her head down, ready to accept her own imminent defeat, she heard slow clapping from behind her. She turned around to see a girl her age with a tied up green undercut and a beauty mark sitting right next to the amused smirk on her face standing next to a bored looking young man. 

Lilith narrowed her eyes. She recognized that stupid smirk, and it was the last thing she wanted to see. "Beat it, Odalia, or you'll be my next target." 

Odalia laughed in response. "Funny. I thought you were going to actually threaten me." 

She stepped closer to Lilith and walked in front of her, looking her straight in the eye. "I just heard the word around the school that the Clawdorks have to face up against each other tomorrow for the last spot on the Emperor's Coven." She dramatically sighed and feigned a sad face. "So tragic that such a strong sisterly bond has to be challenged in this way." Her face grew into a smirk once more. "And so pathetic that the Elder Clawdork thinks that a little extra training on the Grudgby field will make any difference in the inevitable outcome." 

"Just what are you getting at, Blight?" 

"Don't play stupid with me, four-eyes. You know your precious baby sister's gonna kick your ass tomorrow. Doesn't matter how much training you get." She let out another dramatic sigh. "She'll be on top of the world, and you'll be a nobody, stuck here and toiling your life away making silly little potions that probably won't even work half the time." 

Lilith looked down with narrowed eyes and folded her arms. She wanted to protest, but she knew Odalia was right. It really didn't matter how much training she crammed in; she'd still lose. Could she really accept that? 

"So what are you here for?" she finally raised her head and asked. "Just to rub in how pathetic I am?" 

"No, not at all!" Odalia smiled in a way that almost seemed friendly. "In fact, I wanted to help you out a little." 

"Help me?" Lilith repeated, raising an eyebrow. She scoffed at that notion. "Yea, right." 

"Look, Lilith, I know I've always been mean to you," Odalia began, folding her arms and slipping into more of a businesslike face and stature. "And personally, I still don't like you much." 

"This isn't convincing." 

"But I hate your stupid, reckless jackass of a sister even more. All the pranks, all the cheating, all the times she's pissed me off..." Odalia scowled just thinking about it. "I'm not a fan of the idea of either of you being in the Emperor's Coven, but I can handle seeing you up there. I can’t stand the thought of her getting that glory."

"Don't talk about my sister like that," Lilith responded through gritted teeth. "I mean, I want that spot, but she deserves it just as much as I do."

"Does she though?" Odalia asked, tilting her head. "Edalyn may be powerful, but she's also reckless, irresponsible, disrespectful and, well, if I'm being honest, kind of a birdbrain. You're a smart, respectful, responsible honor student who teachers have nothing but good things to say about. You're everything she's not, and you're everything Emperor Belos wants in his coven. It's clear which one of you deserves that spot more." 

Once again, Lilith couldn't argue. She looked down at her feet once again. "Well, if she wins in the duel, it doesn't matter. She'll be in the coven, and I'll be happy for her." 

"Oh, yea, I'm sure you'll be _so_ happy to see your reckless idiot sister get the spot you know you deserve more than her," responded Odalia dryly. "I'm sure it won't eat you up your entire life while you spend the rest of it a nobody. I'm sure no one will talk behind your back, wondering to each other how on Earth a model student like you was weak enough to lose a spot on the Boiling Isles' most honorable coven to her baby sister." 

_Damn it._ Lilith sighed and looked back up. "Alright, fine. I'll take your bait. How do you think you can help me win?" 

"It's not bait," replied Odalia. "And I don't think it'll help you win, I know. And the answer is simple: a spell from the black magic market that'll take away her powers. Hell, I've probably got a whole lot more money for those kinds of things than you do; I'll even buy it for you. Just cast it on her while she sleeps, and boom. Guaranteed victory tomorrow." 

Lilith's first reaction to that was letting her jaw drop and looking back at Odalia with a mix of shock and disgust, before narrowing her eyes in anger. "Who do you think I am, Blight? Eda's my little sister, for crying out loud, and my best friend at that! Why would I put one of those sketchy night market curses on her?" 

Odalia rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, Lilith, don't be so dramatic. It's not gonna hurt her or anything, it'll just take away her powers for the day. It won't even be obvious that it's from a curse. People have power lapses from stressful things like this all the time." 

"And why should I take your word for it? For all I know, you could be setting me up to kill her." 

"Oh, come on, you paranoid freak. I may be a whole lot of things, but I'm not a murderer. Besides, even if I was setting out to seriously harm Edalyn, why would I use you for it?" She smirked. "Your magic isn't strong enough to hurt a fly, nevermind a more-powerful-than-you witch." She looked up as if she had just realized something. "Oh, have I mentioned that she's more powerful than you yet? Just making sure you know how screwed you are if you don't work with me here." 

Lilith looked off to the side with uncertainty. "So, what does this curse do?" 

"I already told you. It takes away her powers for a day. Nothing more." 

"So, she won't feel any, you know, pain or discomfort?" 

"She won't feel a thing." 

"And it'll only be for a day?" 

Odalia rolled her eyes in exasperation. "How many times do I need to repeat myself, Clawdork? Only for a day. It won't hurt her, it won't do any damage, taking away her powers is all it does, and it'll only be for twenty four hours. By the time you've got your things packed and you're off in the coven, it'll be like you never did anything. Understand, or do I need to draw pictures to help you out?" 

Lilith adjusted her glasses and scracthed the back of her head. "I still don't want to. Even if it's as harmless as you say it is, she's still my sister, and it's still a curse. Plus, I fight fair." 

"And you're fighting against someone who, in case you haven't noticed, has never fought fair a day in her life." Odalia put her hands behind her back and walked beside Lilith with a poker face. "If the roles were reversed and you were somehow the more powerful one," she made a show of biting her lip and holding back an amused grin at that, "she'd do the same. She plays dirty, and it won't kill you to do the same." 

Lilith fought an ugly war in her head, narrowing her eyes as the impuslive, ambitious part she deep down knew she shouldn't follow was beginning to win. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke again. "And you swear it won't hurt her?" 

"I swear on my great-great-grandmom's grave," Odalia answered as sweetly as possible. "You win, and no harm is done. Do we have a deal?" 

The impulsive and ambitious part of Lilith's brain had already made its final winning blow. "Yes." 

Odalia smiled. "Alright then. I'm glad to hear it. Go to the night market and look for the scroll with the owl seal on it. When Edalyn is sleeping, read the text on it to her." 

"Got it." Lilith walked across the field to grab her backpack and left, muttering a "Later, Alador" at the boy Odalia had walked in with. As she left, Odalia joined the boy with a satisfied smirk. 

"What a dumbass," she muttered to him. "I mean, she's smart for sure, but man, is she gullible." 

"I still don't know if this is a good idea," Alador responded. "It seems a little low, even for you." 

"Oh, it's not like it's gonna kill the little brat. Sure, it'll screw her up and probably ruin her life, but it's what she deserves after all the crap she's put me through." 

"I guess." Alador shrugged and sighed. "But what if Lilith rats you out?" 

Odalia laughed. "She can't rat me out without admitting that she agreed to do it in the first place. And there's no way she's gonna admit that she, precious goody two-shoes and adoring big sister Lilith Clawthorne, agreed to curse her own sister for her own ambitions." 

"True. So I guess we have Edalyn pretty down in the ground. But what about Lilith? Now she's gonna be in the Emperor's Coven." 

"Sure, at the cost of ruining her dear baby sister's life." Odalia looked up to the sky with a dreamlike grin. "The guilt will do more damage to her than any possible thing I could do or say."

* * *

Lilith felt a bad feeling rise from deep in her stomach as she looked up at the banner indicating that she was entering the night market. Her parents had told her to never go there, and she felt a twinge of guilt over disobeying them, especially given that she was going to use what she got there against their other daughter. 

"It's just gonna take away her powers for the day," Lilith whispered to herself. "It's no big deal, nobody will know, and she's not gonna get hurt." 

Browsing around the various scrolls, potions, and charms scattered around the tables, she finally found the scroll Odalia had described with an owl shaped seal. With a nervous hand and narrowed eyes, she grabbed it and took it to a bearded old man sitting nearby. 

"How many snails for this?" she asked. 

The old man looked up at Lilith, then down at the scroll, then back up at Lilith. "Hm... Red hair, big circle glasses. Sounds like the description she gave me." 

Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Huh?" 

"Some girl with green hair came in earlier, paid for that thing, and said to give it to a redhead with big glasses who, and I quote, thinks wearing a black cloak with a hood makes her look like a badass." 

Lilith looked down at her hooded cloak and bit her lip with embarrassment. 

The old man waved his hand. "Ah, don't sweat it. I was just sayin' what she told me. She seemed like kind of a bitch to me, but hey." 

_Yep, that's Odalia,_ Lilith thought, rolling her eyes. "Um, thanks, sir." 

The old man nodded. "Just don't rat me out for lettin' you have it, aight?" 

"Yes, sir." Lilith nodded and made her way home.

* * *

The anxiety rose in Lilith's stomach once more as she approached her sister's bedroom door. Was she really about to do this? Harmless or not, it was still her sister she was cursing. And even though Eda had the tendency to cheat a lot, Lilith still didn't know if she could bring herself to do the same, especially against her. 

But she thought back to what Odalia said. She would lose if she didn't do something, and she would never get a place in the Emperor's Coven she had dreamed of being a part of her whole life. And Eda cheated all the time; even if she found out, she'd get it. She might even be proud or happy, in a weird way, that her sister would stoop down to her level, and they could laugh about it years down the line. 

And most importantly, Odalia swore that it wouldn't hurt her. 

Lilith took a deep breath and slowly, quietly, opened the door. Eda was fast asleep in her bed with an easygoing smile on her face. Lilith felt her heart sink at that. She always looked so adorable when she slept. But nonetheless, she quietly shuffled to her sister's bedside and whispered the contents of the scroll. 

There was no going back now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want some more details on my whole thing surrounding Amity's parents' potential involvement and my reasoning for believing it, I made a whole tumblr post about it: https://peridaniel.tumblr.com/post/630711089138663424/so-now-that-i-got-one-speculation-out-of-the-way
> 
> I also have a post about the mystery girl I brought up before and what her presence and reactions imply, which would also be good to read since, as I said, she's gonna show up in the next chapter: https://peridaniel.tumblr.com/post/630709140258537472/who-is-she
> 
> alright, catch y'all in about five minutes when I post the second half of this bad boye


	2. Chapter 2

Lilith slept miserably that night, but tried not to let it show as she walked into the kitchen that morning. Eda was already at the breakfast table with a smile on her face, eating a muffin and drinking from a mug of apple blood. Upon seeing her sister walk in, she raised the mug and smiled. 

"Hey, Lily," she greeted. "Ready for our epic battle to the death today?" 

Lilith looked back at her sister. There were no obvious physical changes; she still had the same wild orange hair and golden eyes sparkling with the same amount of friendly mischief as usual. She didn't seem mentally off, either, still with the same playful demeanor she always had with those she didn't hate. 

Lilith smiled back at her and grabbed her own muffin off the counter. "It's not a battle to the death, you dork. At least I sure hope not." She sat down across the table. "And you seem awfully nonchalant about this for someone about to duel her own sister for a spot on the Emperor's Coven." 

Eda shrugged. "Guess I just figured, may the best gal win, y'know?" 

_The "best gal" is you, and I just played dirty to end that._ Lilith felt a twinge of guilt and looked down at her muffin, trying to hide her own nervousness with a chuckle. "Heh, yea..." She cleared her throat. "May the best gal win." 

"Aww, come on, Lily," Eda said. "You're nervous, I can tell." 

Lilith awkwardly chuckled again. "Oh, um, yes. Nervous." 

"It's okay, sis. Even if you don't win, you're still a great witch." 

Lilith tried to smile back, hoping it worked. "Same to you if you lose." _When you lose._

To her relief, Eda didn't appear to notice anything off. "That's the spirit! So, are you ready?" 

Lilith took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm ready."

* * *

The stands at the Hexside field day arena weren't exactly filled to the brim, but there was a sizeable number of people present. Everyone at Hexside, students, parents, and faculty alike, knew of the Clawthorne sisters. Between elder sister Lilith being one of Hexside's more intelligent high honor students, younger Edalyn being the school's most notable nightmare, and both sisters being powerhouses on the grudgby field, the two had made names for themselves. And the people were definitely interested in seeing them battle for a spot on the Emperor's Coven.

A bespectacled girl with messy brown hair was one of the people who had come to see the event, and was standing beside the bleachers picking at her fingernails in boredom waiting for it to start. She looked up and scanned the arena for people she knew. Her eyes narrowed as they locked onto a girl with green hair walking towards the bleachers. 

"Well, look what the feline demon dragged in," the girl said with disgust as she walked with her arms folded towards the other girl. "What are you doing here, Odalia? Here to bemoan the fact that you're not the one dueling for a spot with the big guys?" 

"Oh, _please,_ " Odalia responded, turning herself around to face the other girl. "While I respect the Emperor's Coven- a whole lot more than you, I may add- I have no interest in being a part of it. If the Clawdorks wanna throw fireballs at each other for their chance at it, then that just leaves free entertainment for the rest of us." She snorted and folded her arms. "Anyway, why are you here? Don't you usually ditch these things to go play around with demons or set up your next prank?" 

"I'm here because the 'Clawdorks' are my friends, you brainless sod. I know that's hard to understand for someone who doesn't have any." 

"I'll have you know I do have friends, Elliot. Just because I don't want to get into their pants like you do doesn't mean I don't care for them." Odalia's mouth curled up into a shark's grin when she saw the other girl blush and groan in frustration at that remark. "Come on, Elliot. I'm not brainless. I see the way you look at Edalyn." 

"That's not true!" Elliot protested, curling her hands into fists. "We're just friends. Stop spreading shit about me." 

Odalia laughed. "You know it's true. And I don't need to spread anything. Anyone with functioning eyes knows a raging lesbo when they see one." She laughed some more and turned away, still glancing at Elliot's blushing face. "But it's okay. Maybe the outcome of today's duel will get rid of those nasty little desires." 

"And what the hell do you mean by that, Blight?" 

"Oh, nothing at all." Odalia smiled and walked away with no further word, and Elliot saw her take a seat at the bleachers next to Alador, who was sitting with his head resting in his hand. 

Elliot raised an eyebrow, but turned away and shook off what she said. She instead took another quick look at Alador and shook her head. _Maybe what I feel for Eda is "nasty" to you, but at least I'd treat her loads better than how you treat that poor bastard._

She looked down at her feet with a frown and walked away from the bleachers, kicking at a few pebbles she saw in her path, until she saw two kids around her age walking next to each other in yellow uniforms with different shades of red hair hanging behind them. She smiled upon recognizing those figures and quickened her pace as she walked to them. 

"Hey, Eda," she said with a wave. "Hey, Lily." 

"Hey, Elliot!" Eda happily greeted back with a wave. 

"Hello, Elliot," Lilith greeted more quietly with a tiny wave before walking past both of them. 

Eda watched her go and snickered. "The poor thing is so nervous about today. She stayed after school to train for a couple hours, then went out at night and said she was training some more." She snickered again with her usual snort. 

"Well, I guess I can't really blame her," Elliot responded as she and her friend walked together. "If I had any sibs, I wouldn't wanna fight 'em, either. Besides, you know you can wipe her ass, and she probably knows it, too." 

Eda frowned. "Yea... But, I dunno, I never even really wanted this. The main reason I was into this whole Emperor's Coven thing was because she wanted to be in it." She thought for a moment. "Well, and because it gives me a legal means to use whatever magic I want with no limits, but eh. At any rate, it wouldn't be fun without her." 

Elliot nodded. "Yea, I guess. It's kinda screwed up that they're even making you duel." 

Eda leaned against the bleachers with a faraway thoughtful look. "Yea, it is." She looked back at Elliot with a conflicted expression. "I dunno, Elliot. Do you think I should just throw the duel, or forfeit? I've been thinking about it for a while now. She really wants this spot, and I, well, don't care for it as much. Plus, I've always gotten her into so much trouble, dragging her in on my pranks and stuff." 

"The abomination incident." 

"Heh, yea. Although that wouldn't have been as bad if the damn things had stayed on my side instead of going rogue." Eda shook her head and frowned. "But anyway, I think it's time I do something nice for her. Give her what she wants. What she deserves, both a whole lot more than I do." 

"Man, you really do have a big heart buried somewhere in there." Elliot smiled. 

Eda smiled back and gave her friend a punch on the arm. "Don't tell a soul." She sighed. "Besides, I kinda hid it from Lily this morning, but I'm feeling a little off today. Not really up to a full blown witches' duel, y'know?" 

"Well, that can be an out, right? Say you're not feeling well?" 

"Eh, it's not that bad. Besides, you know how Lily's big sister instincts kick in when I'm sick." She chuckled and spoke in a crude imitation of her sister. "'You're sick? Why, we can't possibly duel today, dear sister! We need to get you to the intensive care unit! Does anyone have a healing potion?'" She and Elliot both laughed. "Nah. I'll be alright." 

"But are you gonna throw the duel still?" 

"I dunno." Eda walked away with a thoughtful expression. "I'm still thinking about it." 

Elliot watched her walk away before shrugging and walking up the bleachers. She instantly gravitated to a spot in the back of the crowd, behind several of Emperor Belos' cronies, and waited for the duel to begin.

* * *

"Won't be long now," Odalia muttered. She leaned towards Adalor and spoke quietly into his ear with an impish grin on her face. "Mark this day on your calendar, hon. The day Edalyn Clawthorne gets what's coming to her." 

Alador absently nodded as she added more quietly, "And the first day of both of the Clawdorks' endless misery." 

She turned her attention back to the field as one of Belos' men spoke to the audience. 

"Welcome all witches, demons, and oddities alike to the Hexside field day's witches' duel, where we decide who will get the last open spot on the esteemed Emperor's Coven!" 

The whole audience roared with cheers for a few moments before quieting down enough so that the man could speak again. "Today, competing for this position, we have Lilith Clawthorne-" 

To another wave of cheers and fanfare, Lilith made her way onto the field, a stone cold look on her face. 

"-and Edalyn Clawthorne!" 

The cheers began once more, with Eda took in with a proud, confident smile. 

"May the duel begin!" 

The smile faded off of Eda's face and was replaced with a stone cold look to match her sister's. They stood in silence for a few moments before Lilith raised her fist up in the air, narrowing her eyes and gaining a confident smile of her own. Eda made the same motion soon after, and on that note, the duel officially began with Lilith running towards Eda at full speed with fire in her hands. 

Or, at least, that's what it seemed like until Eda lowered her hand and looked on with narrowed eyes. "No." 

Lilith skidded to a halt, dissipating the fire, and looked at her sister in surprise. Much of the audience did the same. 

"I refuse to battle my sister," Eda continued. Relaxing her face into a cool smile, she walked over to a still shocked-looking Lilith. 

"I've decided that covens aren't really my style." With a friendly punch on the arm, she added, "Hey, don't forget me when you're a bigshot, sis." 

And with that, she walked away, leaving the audience to mutter to themselves about what just happened, some disappointed that they wouldn't get to see a duel commence. 

_Huh,_ Elliot thought with vague interest. _I guess she made her decision._

Alador, meanwhile, turned to his girlfriend with a concerned expression. "Um..." 

Odalia shook her head with a shark's grin and whispered back, "Believe me, this makes it ten times better." 

Lilith and the audience still looking onward, Eda made it to the edge of the field before suddenly grunting and coming to a cold stop. She hunched over, groaning in pain loud enough that the audience could faintly hear it. 

_What is going on?_ Lilith thought as she took a quick glance at Odalia. _Is that the spell I cast? No, no, it can't be. Can it?_

"What the hell?" Elliot said quietly in the audience. 

"Here we go," Odalia whispered to Alador. 

Still feeling excruciating pain shoot through her body, Eda fell to her hands and knees with more groans. _What is happening to me?_ To her shock and horror, her nails grew far sharper than normal, followed by feathers growing on her arms. 

As her cries grew louder, the audience saw dark brown wings shoot out of her back. And as she covered her face with her now monstrous hands, her hair grew longer and featherier, she grew larger, and her screams of pain turned into a frightening roar. With one final scream, the strange, birdlike beast that was once Eda fell to back on all fours and turned its face towards the audience, revealing black eyes. 

All Lilith could do was stand in shock while this was happening. It wasn't what she did. It wasn't, it wasn't it _wasn't._ What she did was harmless, wasn't it? 

_But then what else could this possibly be?_ she thought as she felt her stomach drop. 

It was what she did. It had to have been. Odalia lied to her, and she, foolishly and impulsively wanting to stoop lower than she'd ever gone to fulfill her own ambitions, had believed it. 

She caused her baby sister, her best friend, her rock, to suddenly and painfully transform into a monster, all for a stupid competition that she ended up throwing anyway.

For a short moment, the audience was stunned silent. But it didn't take long after the transformation had completed before a group of them rose from the bleachers with angry, terrified screams.

"That girl's a monster!" one of them shouted as they all began to throw rocks at the beast. Many others roared in agreement as the throwing continued. 

_This is fucking insane,_ Elliot thought, too stunned and shocked to do anything except watch the scene go down with a poker face. Her best friend and crush had just become some kind of owl monster.

With a start, she remembered Eda mentioning not feeling well. And, more importantly, she also remembered what Odalia had said to her. 

_"Maybe the outcome of today's duel will get rid of those nasty little desires."_

She looked over to the other side of the bleachers. She couldn't see much of Odalia's face, as she was far away and in front of her, but she could see the corner of her mouth turned up into a satisfied smile. 

Curling up her fists, Elliot narrowed her eyes, her shock giving way to unbelievable rage. _Oh, I am going to kill that bitch!_

After taking blows from several rocks with wide eyes and an open mouth, the beast snarled at the audience and stormed off. 

"Edalyn!" Lilith cried, starting after her sister. She had to fix it. She didn't know how, but she had to. 

"Lilith Clawthorne," one of Belos' men said, grabbing Lilith by the wrist before she could go further. "We welcome you to the Emperor's Coven!" 

Lilith had pictured this day coming since she was a child, fantasizing about how glorious it would be. None of her fantasies or dreams played out anything like this. Rather than anything resembling happiness, she felt a mix of negatives. Foolish, remorseful, sad, angry... 

But above those emotions rose a feeling of determination. She was in the Emperor's Coven now. She may have screwed up, but she now had all the power she ever dreamed of having, including, most importantly, the power to fix the horrible act she made to get it. 

She would fix things and heal her sister. She had to.

* * *

Elliot was seeing red by the time everyone filed out of the bleachers, scanning the crowds for one green-haired jerk who she wanted to do unspeakable things to, possible detentions, suspensions, or expulsions be damned. 

The moment she clocked Odalia in the crowd, she wasted no time in marching over and throwing a punch at her. "You bitch! You piece of shit! I know you did this!" 

Odalia nonchalantly dodged the punch and feigned confusion. "Did what?" 

"Don't play fucking stupid with me, Blight!" Elliot shoved her out of the crowd and onto the ground, raising her hand for another punch. Before she could throw it, Alador came out of the crowd and pulled her off. 

"I didn't do anything, you psycho!" Odalia said back, pulling herself back up to her feet. 

"It's true," Alador added. "If you're talking about the whole 'Eda turning into a monster' thing-" 

"Of _course_ I'm talking about that, dumbass!" 

Alador retained his composure and continued. "She didn't have anything to do with that."

"Yea," said Odalia. "I didn't. Why would I?" 

"Oh, gee, I dunno," answered Elliot dryly. "Maybe because you've had it out for her since we were in preschool?" 

"Calm down," Alador said coolly. 

"I wouldn't even know how to do that," said Odalia. "I practice clean magic that wouldn't cause anything like what happened to Edalyn. I don't go perusing black magic shops like you and her both do to come up with your pranks." She shrugged and rejoined the crowd. "Hey, maybe that's what happened. A little prank spell she was planning gone wrong." 

Elliot watched her walk away with a scowl. Maybe she really didn't do anything. But regardless of cause, her best friend was now a monster. Her scowl became a forlorn frown. 

"Move along now, move along," Principal Bump said as he passed her. "Wouldn't want you to be late for class." 

Elliot nodded and rejoined the now waning crowd, walking back towards the school.

* * *

Eda, meanwhile, wandered around the Boiling Isles until eventually catching sight of her own house. Upon seeing it, she turned back to normal just as quickly as she became the beast, and upon realizing such, ran inside to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Everything looked mostly back to normal, and she was about to sigh in relief...

...until she saw a streak of gray in her bright orange hair. Running her fingers across it, she felt and plucked out a feather, and looked back in the mirror with wide eyes. 

Whatever had happened to her, it was bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _But it was not your fault, but mine  
>  And it was your heart on the line  
> I really fucked it up this time, didn't I, my dear?_  
> -Little Lion Man, Mumford and Sons

**Author's Note:**

> So there it is. A whole fic detailing my headcanon about how there's more to Lilith's actions that what meet the eye. I should add that I'm not using this as a way to excuse her actions. As was pointed out in fic, Odalia lying to her and pressuring her into doing it doesn't negate the fact that she did it, and it really doesn't negate the fact that she became a crony for a tyrant at the cost of the family she betrayed, constantly taunted Eda for the curse she knew she gave her, tried to murder Luz... you get the gist. But still, I have faith in her and I think she's begun a great redemption arc.
> 
> Oh, and a lot of you may have noticed that Odalia's last name in this fic is still Blight despite not being married yet. She's definitely a "force the husband to take my last name instead" type to me (not that the husband taking the wife's last name is a bad thing, it's just... you know).


End file.
